Grate bar



Aug. 20, 1935.; J. s. THOMPSON GRATE BAR Filed June 27, 1953 INVENT m ,i4-m11 ATTORNEYS Patentediugv. 20, 1935` ,A miler s su James 1S'. Thompson, 'New.RoehelleQ--N. Y., as-

ysignor to fWaugh y York, N. Y.; a corpora members and grate bars vsupporte-cl therein 'or rocking movement. More 'particularly,A ithefinvention is concerned With'a grate -bar oi' novel construction y whichicomprises a carrier' member anda plurality of fu'el'sup'porting units 'thereon-,

the units being l'held in place on fthe carrier by means which are "also employedto prevent .facci-` dental dislodgment-LoffthelgrateA bar from-the' s '1 j tribution oflair tothe fuel.V

frame. f

'Ihe'irame' of the new gra'te is`4 made vup [of side framemembers, and in thelarger-sizes, alsofin? cludes a center rame,lmember,A these 'members' extending lengthwise of the lire-box and having recesses (aligned Vacross the box for receiving the trunnions of grate bars.r Thenew` grate' bar includes a carrierof simple construction having trunnions at itsrends 'and a plurality vofV -fuelsupporting units Veach` of `which'hasf-'fan openingl Y through it of such si'ze'and shapeQthat-the vunit may be mountedon the carrier by vbeing slipped over the Yend s offthelatter. Tn-order tofseoure@` the units in :place on Vthe carrier, locking@plates are provided nions and 'then secured to'` the Vcarrier Veach of these locking plates isfprovided with'- Vmeans which rcooperates'with a portion of 4the adjacentv frame'- member to prevent they grate 4bar' `from being dislodged from A i For a better understanding ofv theV invention;

reference may be hadjto thejaccompanyirlg drawing inY which member Showing@ poriiorrbf'argraie bar mfiuntf; f

ed therein;

Fig. -4 is an end view-of the carrier" memberj and Y 1 5 isla-facefview Unlocking plate? to' the drawing, ther lnew "fgrate v Referring now is illustrated as comprising "a -fr'ame member '1D' which is ordinarily a single castingifand comkbottom flange 12,;"the

prises a web kIl withv a web being lightenedbytheV formation Aof ofpenf ings i3 therethroughhe frame member ils'proV-A.

vided at its. top with 'spaced' trunnionfsockets 1I-4- defined by "ribs '-I 5; thseso'ckets being -openlat .is provided f'with spaced arev fair passages ber.

which are placedover `the vtran-JgV lFig. Vl is a fragmentaryA side elevation' slimlvifig` frame member Vwith,agrate Equipment Company,1,New f tion of Maine beneath? the sockets by stiffening tween' the sockets, the face of the 'The lvframe memberis strengthened miosk se. 13e-- `frame member f lugs H between which flow -o air to fuel which may rest on toplof the frame niem` The lu'gs terminate' at th`ei jections '19: separated" 2l* sdthat air iiowing up may flow `along all 'side's'oi The frame center member and itis provided r tops in pro- 4.by airchannels 20 and through the passagesleach. projectionso as to keep the'projec'tionco'ol vandv effect, a'wide dismernber :illustrated 'in Fig.' f1 is a1 with the usual Y,

V,means at its ends onwhichl it is supported; VvThe* trunnion. sockets M extend completely across the of 'two'grate bars Also." both" faces of vided with the lugs 1H. bers. Ysuch as that struction similar that one f face only of l memberf-'so thatV each socket receives trunnions "aligned across "the grate. the frame memberare pro- The side frame mem-- illustrated at 22, are of a conto the center members except the member isprovided with'lugs and thev-trunnion socket extends vonly tojthecenterline of the 'frame member.

4The new grate v 4 r 23 whicnmay `bey made of east iro like.

bar includes `a carrier member n, steel, or the This carrier has 'a lat top"24 and downwardly andoutwardly sloping' sides-125 "terminat` flanges 25. The carrier thus has fthe-shape of an'inverted'tr'ough and the ends ofxthetroughfare clcsed'by plate portionszl from which `'extend the trunnio'ns 28, these trunnions lying slightly below the top '272i'. VExtending outwardly from-the end of Ythecarrier on opposite sides ofthe trunnionare'small lugs 29.V Alshaker'` armffil extends down fromthe carrier at arsuitable point and the shaker arm is connected to a shaker rod "connectingla number barstogether so that they can be son."

lThe particular'shape'oithe'carrier above del-` li'ghtconstruction and: assists vin 'of the carrier rocked in uniscribed is preferred', since this providesa strong centering theV fuel-supporting units mounted thereon. How,.- ever; carriers of vlvarious other/shapes may be used to accomplish' the same' general purpose.

Also,

inthe-anew carrier, the Vtrunn'ions lie belowvthe tcpof the carrier and that arran ierred, since it `simpliries mounting ofthe fuel-supporting trunnions Emay be gement is prethe mounting and deunits,y but the provided `lfiaving'their top surfaces level with the top 'of the carrier or projecting slightly above the latter,Y if desired. Y

Y The fuelsupporting. units mounted on the `car struction described in my application, Serial No.V

546,778, led June 25, 1931, now Patent No. 1,899,- 539, issued February r28, 1933, being preferred since those units are lighter and cheaper than cast units. Each unit comprises a body portion Si having an opening through it of the same general shape as the cross section of the carrier, except that the dimensions of this opening are slightly greater than those of the carrierso that the unit rests on the sloping sides 25 of the carrier" extending outwardly from its bottom edge and aligned with the trunnion opening I4. This proand does not engage the top or edge ilanges of the latter. Also, each unit is formed with lugs 32 which extend beneath the Vedges of the ilanges 25 of the carrier when the unit rests thereon inv normal upright position, theseV lugs preventing the units from being thrown free ofthe carrier.

By making the dimensions of thefopening in the unit slightly greater than those of the carrier, the unit rests only on the sloping surfaces of the carrier and is free to have angular movement relative to the carrier.v A grate bar of4 this construction when used in a locomotive and-subjected to shocks and jars incident to travel has a selfcleaning action by reason of the relative movement of the units on their carriersw i j Y Each face of each unit is provided with spaced lugs 33 which in part dene upward air passages 315i between them and each lug terminates in a plurality of small'fuel-'supporting projections 3,5 separated by air channels 36. Air flowing up through the passages and through the channels keeps the projections cool and is also widely dis-` tributed ,tov the fuel on the unit.

Certain of the lugs 33 may be providedvwith` spacing projections 3lfso that when the units are placed on the carrier, the spacing projections of one unit contact with those of the adjacentv units and keep the units spaced apart the proper dis` tance.

The unitsare mounted on the carrier by being slipped overA the ends of the latter and this operation involves no diiiiculties whatever since the opening through each unit is slightly larger than the cross-sectional shape of the carrier and the trunnions lie within the-outlines of the carrier. After the units arein position, the carrier may be placed in the grate frame, but since the units are free to move lengthwise of the carrier, it is desirable to provide means to lock` the units in place against such movement, and thus prevent the units from contacting with the frame during the rocln'ng of the gratebars. Y

The locking means which I provide for the purpose consists 'of a pair of plates 38, one for each end of the carrier. These plates-have a shape somewhat similar to the cross-sectional shape of the carrier but have an upwardly projecting portion 3Q which'ts over the top of the carrier and terminates in a flange 4@ which sticks up above the top of the carrier to a substantial extent. Each locking platehas an opening 4| for the trunnion and other smaller openings 42 which receive the projections 29 from the ends of the carrier. The several openings inthe plate lift the trunnion and projections fairly snugly .so that the latter help to keep the plate in place. 'I'he plate is preferably made'of mild steel and it has portions which are suiiciently long to project downwardly beyond the bottom of the endA of the carrier when the plate is in place on the trunnion. These projecting vportions of the plate lie along the outer edges thereof and, after the plate is in position, the projections are bent back along the bottom of the carrier and then turned up against the rear face of the end of the carrier as at 44. `In this way the plate is held rmly in position on the end of the carrier and the end fuel-supporting units in the group on the carrier lie in contact with the upstanding part 4i! of the plate and are thus kept properly spaced from the frame members. Theseupstanding portions on the plate also prevent the unitsv from slipping 01T the carrier while the grate bar is being put in position.

"Ihe plate is also provided with a projection 45 jection cooperates with a portion of the frame member to .prevent the grate bar from upward movement which would throw the trunnion free of the trunnion socket. In grates in which the trunnion sockets are open at the top, ashes sometimes become wedged in the sockets beneath the trunnionsvand tend tolift the trunnions. `When the accumulation of ashes has built up to a considerable extent, violent shaking of the grate bars mightresult inthe trunnions being thrown free of the sockets, The projection 45 on the locking plate prevents thisA action fromtaking place. It extendsV outwardly from the face 'of the plate 38 a substantial distance and when the grate bar is in position in the framej-the projection underlies the .rib ISdening the trunnion socket in which a-trunnion of the bar is mounted. In order tok place the grate bar in position inthe aligned socketsthe `bar is turned through 90 to the position illustrated in Fig. 1 at 46. In this position; the projection 45-frorn each-plate lies in alignment With a space 41-`between `the rib l 5 and the next adjacent lugl il on the frame. yThe grate bar is then loweredinto position until its trunnions *rest intheir sockets, after which the bar is r turned to its normalV position. In this turning movement, the projections 45 swing down to lie beneath the bottom of the ribs l5;

The projection andrib cooperate at all ordinary. times to prevent the trunnion from being lifted clear voi? its socket. When the bar is rocked for dumping purposes, the rocking movement does not go beyond 459 to eitherside of the normal position 'off the bar vand consequently-the projection 45 always lies beneath-a portion of the rib, exceptwhen the bar is intentionally tilted so Ythat its top lies vertical instead of horizontal,

The constructionV of the carrier-and units de- 1 scribed is simple and inexpensive and the car-- rier may be of light weight and yet suniciently strong toserveits purpose. Tne units are also of simplexconstruction and may be mounted on the carrier simply by being slipped overthe ends of the latter. ,Afterthe units arein position, the locking `piates are putin placerand. the complete bar isthen placed in the frame in the manner described and its-` shaker armconnected'to 'the shaker rod. kWhen then bar is to be removed, itsv lWhile I have described'the grate frame mem-V bersin afpreferred form which includes the side lugs and top projections,"i t will be apparent that framer members ,fof various other types can be .bar in place.

Y are not open at the top.

s employed Vso longas these members are provided with openings for ytrunnions Fand are 'provided ofthe locking' with parts with which a portion plate on the grate bar can cooperate to hold the The. new bar, employed in a vgrate frame in which the trunnions are received in openingsY in the frame which In that event, the locking plates serve only to keep the'fuel supporting units on the bar and the projection Mimay be left in the plane of the plate orrentirely disv pensed with. What I claim:

l. A grate which comprises the combination of a frame, and grate bars mounted therein, each barV comprising a carrier having trunnionsk re-j., ceivable in openingsin the frame, the carrier being rockable on its trunnionsya plurality 'of'fuelsupporting units on the off the ends thereof, and a locking plate detachably mounted at eachend of thecarrier for holdl ing the units thereon, said plate havingan open- .n

ing through which thetrunnion loo-sely 4projects and apart underlying and engageable with a portion of the frame to prevent removal of the bar from the frameby' an upward movement of the bar whenthe latter is in` normal operative position.

2. A grate whichy comprises the combinationV of a frame, and grate bars mounted therein, 'eachbar comprising a carrier Vhaving trunnions rel ceivable in openings in, the frame, the carrierv being rockable on itstrunnions, a plurality of` fuel-supporting units on the carrier` and remov- Y* able off the ends thereof, and a locking plate detachably mounted at `each end of the carrier, said plate 'having a part limiting movement of said units along ythe carrier, and another part cooperating with part of said frame to prevent accidental dislodgment of the bar from the frame.

3. A grate which comprises the combination of a frame, and grate bars mounted therein, each bar comprising a carrierfhaving trunnions re ceivable in openings in the frame, the jcarrier being rockable on its trunnions, kaplurality of fuel-supporting units onthe carrier'and removable off the ends thereof ,and a locking plate detachably mounted at each end of the carrier, said plate having a part limiting movement of said units along the carrier, and a second part un'- derlying a part of said frame beneath the openingfin'which a trunnion on said carrier is received, said second part permitting rockingy movement of said carrier but preventingaccidental dislodgment thereof from'the frame.

4. A grate bar comprising acarrier having trunnions at its ends, a plurality of fuel supporting units mounted loosely on the carrier Afor rocking movement-relative to said carrier, Vsaid units vbeing removable off the ends of the carrier, and f a plate Aat one end ofsaid carrier for holding said unit-s in place onV the carrier, said'plate having Y an opening through which-the trunnion'projects and lying adjacent the point ofconnection of the trunnion and the remainder of the carrier.

5. A grate bar comprising a carrier having trunnions at its ends, a plurality of fuel *supporting units mounted on the carrier and removable offy the ends of v,the carrier, and a plate at each end ofthe carrier, detachably secured to the carrier, and having a part limiting movement of the units along the latter, said plate having an opening through which the trunnion. projects and lying adjacent the point of connection behowever, maybecarrierl andr removable 14s 3 tween the Vtrunnion and the remainder Yof the carrier.

' 6; A grate bar comprising a carrier having trunnions at its ends lying within the outlines of the ends of the carrier, fuel supporting units on the carrier, each unit having an opening through it through which `the carrier extends, said units being removable only off the endsfof the carrier, and a plate at the y end of the carrier for holding saidY units thereon,.said plate having a vprojection extending parallel to the aXis of the trunnion and beneath it in spaced relation to said trunnion.

7. A grate bar comprising a carrier having trunnions at its ends, a plurality of fuel lsupporting units mounted on the carrier and removable ,off the ends ofthe carrier, anda plate mounted at `each end of the carrier 'and having an opening through which a trunnion projects, said plate having a part lying'on the top of the carrier and limiting .the movement of said units along the latter, another part engaging kthe underl surface ofthe carrier for securing the plate in place thereon, andia projection beneathA the trunnion and extending parallel to the axis there-l of in spaced relation to said trunnion.

8. A grate whichY comprises the combination Y.

of -a frame Yand'grate bars mounted removably therein, each grate bar comprising a carrier having integral trunnions at its ends receivable in openings insaid frame, said' frame having an outwardly projecting part adjacent each open-4 ing, a plurality of fuel-supporting units'mountedv` on the carrier and removable oi the ends thereof, and a member ateach end of the carrier for preventing movementv of said units of the carrier, each derlying one of said outwardly projecting parts of the frame and engageable therewith to pre.-

' vent accidental dislodgment of the bar from the frame by upward movement of the bar when in normal operative position.

off the ends` member havingv a partlun- 9. A grate which comprisesthe,combination Y of a frame,N and grate bars mounted on the frame,

each bar comprising a carrier having trunnions Y Yreceivable in openings in the frame, said frame having an outwardly projecting part adjacent` each opening, a plurality of fuel-supporting units mounted'on the carrier, and members mounted at the ends of ther carrier andremovable off the ends of said trunnions,'said members holding said units in place on the carrierand each having a parts of the frame to prevent accidental removal of the bar fromk the frameV byV upward movement of the bar when in normal operative position.

10. A grate which comprises the combination of a frame, and grate bars mounted on the frame, each bar comprising a carrier having a pair of supporting surfaces downwardly divergent, fuelvsupporting units mounted on the carrier, each ing, andmeans at each end of the carrier' and preventing movementY of said units off the ends of the carrier, said means having a part underlying and engageable withvone of said projecting parts of the frame to prevent accidental removal k l of the bar from Vthe frame by upward movement of the bar when innormal operative position. JAMES S. THOMPSON.v

f vpart underlying one of said outwardly projecting 

